Large parts of the West Country were under water yesterday after a night of torrential rain.

Schools were closed and transport links disrupted as roads flooded, cutting off dozens of villages from Wiltshire to Devon.

For some householders still drying out after downpours earlier this month, it was the second or third time they had been flooded since the summer.

More than two inches of rain fell overnight in some areas. Streams and brooks unable to cope with the volume of water running off already saturated fields burst their banks, inundating roads and railway lines. Scores of motorists needed to